Nikon D700 Review

Viewfinder

The D700 uses a slightly different prism to the D3; it's not quite as big and bright (and only offers a 95% coverage compared to the D3's 100%), but it's still superb and clearly shows the benefit of a full frame sensor in this important area.

If you attach a DX format lens a box appears in the viewfinder to indicate the cropped area (rather than the grey mask used on the D3). Optionally you can also manually select the shooting format (FX: 36 x 24 mm or DX: 24 x 16 mm - the 5:4 format has been dropped from the D700). Since the speed advantage of the DX crop format has been lost there seems little point using it unless you're actually using DX lenses.

The diagram below (adapted with permission from the D3 user manual) demonstrates the different image sizes (FX / DX), their image circles and the cropped area of the DX format.

The D700 features the same 51 point auto focus sensor as the D3 and D300; the center fifteen (3x5 grid) being cross point sensors even with F5.6 aperture lenses. There are two AF point selection modes (CSM a8), you can opt to be able to select from all 51 points or 11 points in a similar layout as the D2X. (Note that the D700's larger sensor area means that the AF points don't have as much frame coverage as on the D300 and also that the 11 point layout is slightly different). Obviously if you switch to DX cropped mode the focus points cover virtually the entire frame.

51 point AF selection mode

11 point AF selection mode

The D700's viewfinder view is, again, different to both the D300 and the D3 (though it's closer to the D300). Nikon is not using etching to indicate the AF points; all information is displayed using liquid crystal, hence when an AF point is not active there is no detrimental effect on the focusing screen. The full information available in the viewfinder display is shown below.

Battery, Compartment and Charger

The D700 uses the same EN-EL3e battery as the D300. It has a quoted capacity of 1500 mAh at 7.4V (11.1 Wh) and charges on the supplied MH-18a quick charger. Note that the D700 is also compatible with the larger EN-EL4a battery when the MB-D10 battery grip is attached (see below).

The battery compartment is located in the base of the hand grip. The compartment door is opened by pulling on a small lever, inside the battery holds itself part of the way in without dropping and without the use of a catch.

Battery information available on the camera:

Top control panel has a five segment battery life indicator

Camera Menu: Set Up -> Battery Info provides:

Battery meter (as a percentage)

Picture meter (estimated frames on current power)

Calibration (required / not required)

Charging Life (0 to 4 indicating if the battery has come to the end of its useful life)

Battery pack / Vertical grip (optional)

The D700 is compatible with the D300's new battery pack / vertical grip, the MB-D10. The grip doesn't require the removal of the internal battery or battery door instead connecting to a pair of terminals on the base of the camera (normally protected by rubber covers, removed for this shot). This allows the internal battery to be used in conjunction with the batteries in the MB-D10. This MB-D10 is more ergonomic than previous grips and integrates much better with the body, it also supports a wider range of batteries; the EN-EL3e, the large EN-EL4a used in the D3 as well as AA batteries. (Note that the MB-D10 plus batteries other than the EN-EL3e are required to achieve the full eight frames per second shooting speed).

Compact Flash Compartment

Unlike the D3 the D700 only has one Compact Flash slot, and unusually for a Nikon at this level there's no lock or release lever for the slot compartment cover (you just slide it backwards to open it). The D700 supports Compact Flash Type I including FAT32 (cards over 2 GB) and UDMA (high throughput), but notably becomes the first Nikon at this level to drop support for Type II CF cards (e.g. microdrives).

Comments

If you can shoot and don't crop its stil beauty why? because not to many big file's but stil great enough to enlarge.The nice thing is that it stil offers you a professional body there is realy not any current nikon that can compete with that.

Dont get me wrong if you have a d4 or so d4s d5 and the d810 is to many pixels for most people ofcourse if you cant shoot get the 36 megapixel camera's you can crop a lot.

The D700 is an excellent camera, old yet hot in demand. It is built like a tank. Mount a good glass on it and you are on your way to an amazing photographic experience. It is probably one of Nikon's strongest camera.

In 2016 the D700 is still a viable option. If one wishes to pixel peep, then maybe not. Learn to work within its abilities (and it has many), and it will sing and bring smiles with its beautiful color and smooth tones. Pro body built like a tank with quick access to the things we need, just like older film bodies. Today it sells mostly for less than $1,000, average around $600-$700. Why plunk down the same $$$ for cheap plastic bodies that feel like toys, and have to chase through menus to change ISO, WB, Aperture, Shutter, etc. 12.5 MP is more than enough to work with. Print at 150 dpi (which is where high quality begins), and then smirk over poster sizes at 20x30 with GREAT results. But who prints that big for average use? In fact, who even prints anymore?? ( I do...) It's a digital world now. That said, its not about pixel peeping, it's about painting great moments with light! Action point: Find a D700 with low shutter count, add an SB800, and invest in the best glass. Go do it!

The D700 is now an old camera but I have a question that I can't find the answer to. Sent something to dpreview, but it hasn't been fixed, don't expect that it will be. So the geniuses that created this site think it's neat to give scores that are a jpeg. But years later when that image is no longer hosted guess what happens? You can't see the score. What did DPreview hand to the D700 back in 2008? Can't find anything on the web and I don't see any actual text on the review that tells the score.

Question: I want to move up from a Sony A33 to a full-frame DSLR. I'm mostly interested in low/natural-light indoor and architectural photography. Given this, what would I miss out if I picked up a used D700 vs. the latest D610? I think 12MP would be fine if they're good pixels!

No problem with long telephoto lenses, and I expressed myself a bit clumsily. What I meant was that a crop sensor, like the one in the D300 (which I also have) gives more reach at the same pixel count. The D300/700 combination is very convenient, since the two cameras share more or less the same body and use the same CF cards, batteries and vertical grip.

I saw a user one on forum (maybe istock) claiming half a million for a D700 he was still using. I've just bought one (Mar 2017) for £559 with just under 10k clicks. I haven't found any faults with it yet and the images look very punchy and colourful. Coming from a D7000, I love the D700 viewfinder - I'm NOT disappointed.

I've used this camera for many photo shoots for over 2 years and still have it as my backup camera. (My main one is the D4). If you don't care about video, this is the camera for you! Much better than the D600 and probably very similar to the D800 (though the D800 has way too large image files for most shooters.). The images from the D700 with the right Nikkor lenses will keep you very happy for many years! (I only switched to the D4 for it's low light ability and faster shooting speed.)

I have been looking for a replacement camera for my D40 and in my research discovered the D700. I can now get a used one in perfect condition with less than 1700 shots taken plus grip and lens (waiting to hear which lens) for 890 Euros. Would you say this is a better option than a Fuji X-E1 or Olympus OM-D E-M5 in terms of usability and image quality? I am looking for a camera to take stock photos with.

The D700 is an excellent camera if you don't need video or long telephoto lenses. It's particularly ideal if you want to use wide aperture primes and play with shallow depth of field. When it comes to image quality, it's a 5 year old camera, and many of the smaller sensors approach the once unique qualities of the D700 (I use a Panasonic GH3 in addition to the D700 myself). There are no obvious choices, and it mostly boils down to the user experience. Do you prefer an OVF or an EVF? Are you ok with a camera that is twice as heavy? The rational choices nowadays are probably a mirrorless camera, but the D700 is a classic. They are all good :)

Like James & Zakk say: this is a premium quality bit of kit for a Nikon user who wants to go full-frame for a bargain price. You accept the 12MP sensor to avoid the expense of the D800/810 or the known quality issues of the 600/610. Remember Joe McNally was producing his best work on D3/700s pretty recently. If your lenses are all DX then sorry, you'll have to swap 'em but all your Nikon flashes (I'm talking old SB25 24, 26 20 28) will fire in the hotshoe or via cheap SC-17 cord on manual settings without frying the camera circuits. I just discovered that the D700 onbord flash in 'double-dash' commander only mode will fire my old SB-26 in manual slave mode with no added triggers. (Check out The Angry Photographer on Youtube for the wonders of using old Nikon flashes - you'll be amazed.)

If you are dithering over all sorts of weird, fringe brand cameras then your buying a D700 will have tragic results: a camera too heavy for you, & someone more deserving than you missing-out!

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